“Nuclear power centres and waste storage facilities dotting across India must be covered with polymer-based anti-radiation shields to prevent radioactive emissions lest an Armageddon of the magnitude of Chernobyl or Fukushima Daiichi occurs,” said the President of the US based Molecular Materials & Devices Inc, Dr Mrinal Thakur.

As an inventor of the polymer-based protective shields against nuclear radiation, Dr Thakur has secured patent rights over his products in the US and from other patent offices across the world.

He claimed that anti-nuclear radiation shields based on non-conjugated conductive polymers invented by him should be applied to the inner and outer walls of the nuclear reactors to forestall leakage of specific radioactive materials including radioactive iodine that will have lethal impact on living beings.

Generally plastics (polymers) do not conduct electricity. But three scientists received Nobel Prize in 2000 for their revolutionary discovery that plastics can after certain modifications be made electrically conductive. These scientists discovered “conjugated” conductive polymers, but Dr Thakur’s discovery is about “non-conjugated” conductive polymers.

Radioactive iodine is particularly dangerous since it remains as a vapour at ordinary temperature and can travel long distances. It causes thyroid cancer. Radioactive iodine emitted from Fukushima plants crossed the Pacific Ocean to arrive at US coast and cause illness in babies.

Dr Thakur, who is also a Professor and Director of Photonic Materials Research Laboratory of Auburn University in US, met the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday and explained to him the efficacy of polymer-based protective shields against nuclear radiation.

The US citizen of Indian origin is now on a visit to his ancestral country.

Earlier in June 2012, he had submitted his proposal to the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in Mumbai which has not yet been considered.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its report on Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has noted that India has no nuclear safety policy in the last three decades. It has also questioned the delays in according top priority to shielding nuclear reactors against possible radiations.

Emission of radioactive iodine, caused by a nuclear disaster, is readily absorbed by human body and is usually collected in the thyroid. It causes cancer and other ailments depending upon the level of exposure.

The symptoms may not be apparent immediately after exposure which has long-term health effects like teratogenic and genetic mutations leading to birth and hereditary defects.

Iodine remains as vapour at and above room temperature making it easier to contaminate the environment and effect living organisms.

Iodine is partially soluble in water and can contaminate plants, grass and thus dairy products.

About 3% (by weight) of nuclear fission products is radioactive iodine. It can be carried over long distances by wind.

According to Dr Thakur specific polymers called non-conjugated conductive polymers are highly efficient in absorbing iodine via charge-transfer interaction. These are higly inexpensive, processible and flexible or rigid plastic materials which can be used to cover equipment, building, vehicles and facilities of any structure and size. These are uniquely suited as protective materials against radioiodine and potentially other radioactive matter.

The Auburn University and other scientific institutions in the US have since 2000 been regularly sending nominations on behalf of Dr Thakur to the Nobel Committee for consideration of the Nobel Prize in chemistry.

Dr Thakur had earlier created a flutter in the global scientific community by claiming that the recipients of Nobel Prize for chemistry in 2000, Alan Heeger, AG MacDiarmid and H Shirakawa made incorrect statement in their Nobel document that only conjugated polymers can be electrically conductive.

He said that as the non-conjugated polymers can also be electricall ductive, which is experimentally verified, documents preserved at the Nobel Foundation website on 2000 Nobel Prize in chemistry are fundamentally incorrect. The theory developed by Heeger, MacDiarmid and Shirakawa leads to incorrect prediction that only conjugated polymers can be electrically conductive.